Chisekesi

The linear community of Chisekesi, 270km from Livingstone, boasts a useful fuel station. Just to the north is the Mayfair Guesthouse.

Chisekesi is the turn-off to Chipepo Harbour and some of the non-commercial Kariba islands, at a distance of 92km. This is one of the settlement areas of the displaced Tonga people (Siavonga/Lusitu is another). As a form of compensation, ZESCO and the World Bank are in the process of restoring the 'bottom road' that connects Siavonga, Chipepo, Sinazongwe and Siameja, all the way down to Sianzovo with its amethyst mines and market. (Stones are sold illegally here by Senegalese traders known as the Masenesene.) Beyond Sianzovo the road continues to Syagulula, where there's a women's basket-making cooperative that is the source of some of the baskets sold at Choma Museum, and on a further 15km to Devil's Gorge where it is reported that a lodge is being built. At present, this is rough going, and you'll need some large-scale maps of the area, but the scenery is rewarding. A similarly poor road connects Sianzovo market back to Kalomo.